Amidst the backdrop of the US Presidential election, it only seems fitting that I will be participating in not one, but two “Future Leadership” events in coming days.

Ireland’s national spring conference of Junior Chamber International(JCI) will take place Saturday overlooking the lovely River Lee here in Cork City. American President John F. Kennedy once reflected on JCI saying, “Harvard gave me an education, but Junior Chamber gave me an education for life.”

I’m looking forward to being surrounded by JCI people in their 20s and 30s who believe in…

creating positive changes in their communities”

(as excepted from JCI’s press release on the event). These committed participants will be, among other things, taking part in a public speaking competition. As a veteran CNN correspondent and now communications consultant, I am honoured to be one of the judges.

Of course, there’s already so much punditry and discussion these days about what is and isn’t the best leadership style. Most experts agree that positive leadership is compassionate, empathetic and understanding. Without naming names, it goes without saying that some leaders, while effective, are certainly not positive.

While a sheer-forceful leader may get initial results, the lasting legacies will bring about a true reflection of the approach.

President Kennedy also said that “leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

I know I learn something every week from the wide range of incredible executives and professionals I consult and work with. And I’m sure there will be much to be learned from the lessons the 2016 American presidential election.

In the meantime, I look forward to learning from the young leaders and researchers whom I will be soon meeting. Those committed to changing their organizations and communities in positive ways.

I was fortunate to work with the HR department of one of the world’s largest beverage companies this past week.

They were preparing to launch an employee recognition program that is AMAZING!

Simply put, each employee- from top to bottom – will receive 100 points every six months that are redeemable for vouchers like movies, shopping, travel, sky-diving, etc.

That’s not so amazing, you may be thinking. Lots of places do that. That’s just a rewards card. BUT! In this program, you don’t get to redeem your own points. You award them to a peer whom you see doing something that personifies the company BRAND.

It’s Cool. It’s “Pay It Forward” codified by a company.

Unfortunately, due to proprietary reasons, I can’t give you the details. Yet. As soon as this pilot program is successfully ticking along, I plan to absolutely seek a thumbs up from them to tell you – and anybody else who will listen – about this great motivating idea!

What I can tell you is that although this new program was the result of years of internal surveys and had already been socialized in smaller groups, my HR team knew how incredibly pivotal their presentations would be on the official day of the launch. They wanted to leave nothing to chance.

They know we’re all a bit skeptical of change. Especially something that feels “too good to be true” like this program almost does.

Therefore, it was imperative that this plan was announced with a great amount of passion, conviction and genuine connection to the employees in their audiences.

We spent a great deal of time discussing the mindset and backgrounds of the audiences, refining the goals and intent the team had for how their presentation should be received, and of course, an equally great deal of time rehearsing and coaching around the content and delivery of the presentation.

Here, then, is the email I received soon after our session, for which I am grateful:

Many thanks for the session on Monday – I really enjoyed it and just wished that we had longer with you!

We did a full rehearsal yesterday and it was amazing how different our delivery was after our time with you. I’m feeling more relaxed about tomorrow than I expected to after you gave my confidence a lift. So thank you!”

It was a pleasure and an honor to work with people who are truly committed to innovating ways to inspire and motivate others.

And for you out there: Where are you on this spectrum? Are you a naysayer? An innovator? An encourager? Or perhaps even a “Lifter of the uplifter?”

Thanks for the opportunity, folks. Because even the uplifters need a boost now and again. Maybe especially. Here’s to them.